Sheryl Crow: I don't need marriage

Sheryl Crow has told how she was always made to feel "smaller" when she went out with successful men.

The singer told Good Housekeeping that when she dated high-profile men she thought that she would feel their equal.

But the 52-year-old, who previously dated Owen Wilson and Eric Clapton in the 1990s and was engaged to now-disgraced cyclist Lance Armstrong before ending their relationship in 2006, said that it did not work out that way.

While not naming names, Sheryl told the mag: "I have always gone out with guys who were highly successful, which would seem like it would put me at an equal level.

"But what ends up happening is that one of you becomes smaller - and it was always me... It's always the woman. I mean, I don't know if it's always the woman, but I do think that sometimes in order for one person's light to shine, everyone else has to dim theirs."

The singer added: "I would love to get married - I'm still old-fashioned. But I don't think marriage is the be-all-and-end-all. It's better to have three broken engagements than three divorces."

Sheryl adopted two boys, Wyatt, now seven, and Levi, now four, and says that she loves life with them .

She also criticised the trend towards highly sexualised music videos and stage performances,

"It's hard to be a woman in music today. There's so much sex that's projected, and that's a bummer," she said. "These singers talk about how empowering it is, but a good musician who can command the stage doesn't have to rely on sex to sell her music."